Record-breaking Surprise Inspection: Queensland State Of Australia Cracks Down On Illegal Tobacco And E-cigarettes

According to the Mirage news report on May 6th: The crackdown on illegal tobacco and e-cigarettes achieved a record-breaking success in the "Apalusa Operation" led by the Queensland Department of Health. The Queensland health department seized the largest number of illegal cigarettes and e-cigarettes in the country's history during this operation. The police conducted surprise inspections at over 30 locations and confiscated 76,000 e-cigarettes, 19 million cigarettes, and 3.6 tons of bulk tobacco. This surprise inspection coincided with the first week of the government's implementation of the highest fines across the country, with the fine amount exceeding 5 million US dollars, which was over 100,000 US dollars more than the fines during the last four months of the Labor Party's governance. Queensland has intensified its efforts to combat illegal tobacco and dangerous e-cigarettes, and the health authorities have seized the largest-scale illegal products in the country's history to prevent these products from falling into the hands of children.
In March this year, the police seized over 76,000 e-cigarettes, 19 million illegal cigarettes, and 3.6 tons of bulk illegal tobacco during the record-breaking Apalusa operation. The total value of the black market was estimated at 20.8 million US dollars.
With the support of the Queensland Police Department and the Therapeutic Products Authority, the Queensland Department of Health conducted surprise searches at over 30 locations in central Queensland, the Whitsunday Islands, the North Metropolitan District, the South Metropolitan District, and West Moreton.

This crackdown operation was carried out before the implementation of the most stringent on-the-spot fines for illegal tobacco and e-cigarettes in the country on April 3, 2025. This means that if caught selling illegal tobacco and e-cigarettes, individuals will be fined 32,260 US dollars, and businesses will be fined up to 161,300 US dollars.
Our focus in combating these illegal traders is to confiscate their illegal goods, deprive them of their profitability, and impose the most severe fines in the country on them.
"This is our latest crackdown on the illegal black market. We will continue to combat this organized crime and prevent dangerous e-cigarettes from falling into the hands of children."